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Hygiene Among the Israelites
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“All the days wherein the plague shall be in him [the leper] he
shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the
camp shall his habitation be. The garment also that the plague of
leprosy is in, whether it be a woolen garment, or a linen garment;
whether it be in the warp, or woof; of linen, or of woolen; whether
in a skin, or in anything made of skin; ... the priest shall look upon
the plague: ... if the plague be spread in the garment, either in the
warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of
skin; the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean. He shall therefore
burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woolen or in linen, or
anything of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it
shall be burnt in the fire.”
Leviticus 13:46-52
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So, too, if a house gave evidence of conditions that rendered it
unsafe for habitation, it was destroyed. The priest was to “break
down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the
mortar of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city
into an unclean place. Moreover he that goeth into the house all the
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while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even. And he that
lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the
house shall wash his clothes.”
Leviticus 14:45-47
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Cleanliness
The necessity of personal cleanliness was taught in the most
impressive manner. Before gathering at Mount Sinai to listen to
the proclamation of the law by the voice of God, the people were
required to wash both their persons and their clothing. This direction
was enforced on pain of death. No impurity was to be tolerated in
the presence of God.
During the sojourn in the wilderness the Israelites were almost
continually in the open air, where impurities would have a less
harmful effect than upon the dwellers in close houses. But the
strictest regard to cleanliness was required both within and without
their tents. No refuse was allowed to remain within or about the
encampment. The Lord said:
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew